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Pau Gasol (#16), Joakim Noah (#13), Rose (#1)
of being a point center, funneling passes to
teammates in an attempt to confuse defenses
and create open looks. While Noah was very
good in that role, it wasn’t an ideal solution
to Chicago’s problems. The reality was that
nobody in Chicago’s lineup—not Kirk Hinrich,
not Butler—was able to command doubleteams
or at least threaten to punish opponents
for not doing so.
Clearly the plan was to have a healthy Rose
drawing defenses in and creating open looks
for his teammates. With Rose first ineffective
and then injured again, Chicago had to turn to
a plan B. That plan featured an offense that
Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images
often used up the shot clock but didn’t create
very many good opportunities.
With that in mind, the Bulls have added a
few players who could make the offense more
effective. The biggest name among them is
Gasol, who still retains serious low-post skills
to go along with a functional midrange jump
shot. Gasol is the kind of player who can bring
Chicago’s offense to life, although he isn’t
necessarily the best fit as a go-to scorer at
this point in his career.
Chicago also brought over Nikola Mirotic,
known as the best player in Europe last
season, and traded their two first-round draft
picks for Creighton’s McDermott, a
terrific college shooter and scorer
who will help give Chicago’s offense
spacing if his skills can carry over
to the NBA level.
The biggest X-factor in all of this
is Rose, the catalyst for Chicago’s
offensive success before missing two
years due to injuries. The odds are
against Rose being the same MVP
player he was before, but if he can
defy the odds, the pieces are in place
for the Bulls to have a genuinely
good offense. On the flip side, if
Rose is done as a shot creator, then
Chicago will likely have an improved
but still below-average NBA offense
in the 2014-15 season.
Outlook
A few things are basically certain
about the Bulls. One is that they’ll
once again be an outstanding
defensive team under Thibodeau.
Another is that they’ll be one of the
best teams in the Eastern Conference.
No matter what happens, the Bulls
have the talent and depth to end up with
either the No. 1 or 2 seed along with the
Cleveland Cavaliers.
What isn’t certain is just how much upside
Chicago has. That greatly depends on how
well Rose is able to recover from multiple
knee injuries and surgeries. If Rose can
become something close to the MVP he was
in the past, Chicago will be the best team in
the Eastern Conference. However, it’s more
likely that Rose will be a lesser version of
what he once was, and if that happens, the
most likely outcome for the Bulls is a deep
playoff run that falls short of a championship.
SPOTLIGHT:
Derrick Rose
The past two seasons have been something of a nightmare for the 2011 NBA MVP. It started with a torn ACL suffered late in the 2011-12 NBA
season. While injuries of that nature are always scary, athletes are usually able to come back from them on time and still perform at a high level.
That was not the case with Rose. While athletes usually return within nine to 12 months after ACL surgery, Rose was still on the sidelines
after more than a year out of action. Clearly lacking confidence in his knee, Rose decided not to play at all during the 2012-13 season, and
even had his toughness questioned in the process.
When Rose returned in the 2013-14 season, it was obvious that something was off. Rose simply was not performing well, and when he went
down with a torn meniscus, it was equally upsetting and unsurprising.
Before these injuries, Rose was an explosive player with a unique ability to drive to the basket and create open looks for his teammates.
Without Rose in the lineup, Chicago’s ability to create such open looks diminished badly.
With Rose returning this season, he has a lot of questions to answer. Can he stay on the court? Can he produce the same way he used
to? How far Chicago goes in the playoffs will likely depend on how well Rose plays, but the most important thing for Rose is to simply play
within his current abilities, whatever those happen to be in his post-injury world.